Determination of snow cover from MODIS data for the Tibetan Plateau region

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 356-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo-Hui Tang ◽  
Basanta Shrestha ◽  
Zhao-Liang Li ◽  
Gaohuan Liu ◽  
Hua Ouyang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plateau Region ◽  
Modis Data

scholarly journals Height dependence of the tendency for reduction in seasonal snow cover in the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau region, 1966–2001

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 369-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunio Rikiishi ◽  
Haruka Nakasato
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plateau Region ◽  
Seasonal Snow ◽  
Snow Covered Area ◽  
Covered Area ◽  
Height Dependence ◽  
Seasonal Snow Cover ◽  
The Himalaya

AbstractThe dataset of Northern Hemisphere EASE-Grid Weekly Snow Cover and Sea Ice Extent for the period October 1966-July 2001 is analyzed to examine the height dependence of declining tendencies of seasonal snow cover in the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau region (25−45˚ N, 70−110˚E). It is found that the annual mean snow-covered area is decreasing in the Himalaya/Tibet region at a rate of ∼ 1 % a−1, implying that the mean snow-covered area has decreased by one-third from 1966 to 2001. The rate of decrease is largest (1.6%) at the lowest elevations (0−500 m). On the other hand, the length of the snow-cover season is declining at all elevations, with the greatest rate of decline in the 4000−6000 m height range. On the Tibetan Plateau (∼4000−6000 m a.s.l.), the length of the snow-cover season has decreased by 23 days, and the end date for snow cover has advanced by 41 days over this 35 year period. These rates might be somewhat overestimated by the binary definition of snow cover on satellite images. It is likely that the reduction of the snow surface albedo by deposition of Asian dust and anthropogenic aerosols may be at least partly responsible for earlier snowmelt.

A Toolkit for Snow-Cover Area Calculation and Display Based on the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System and an Example for the Tibetan Plateau Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 1850003
Author(s):  
Tyler C. Tucker ◽  
Samuel S. P. Shen
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plateau Region ◽  
Snow Cover Area ◽  
Ice Coverage ◽  
Mapping System ◽  
Snow And Ice

This research develops a toolkit for snow-cover area calculation and display (SACD) based on the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS). The paper uses the Tibetan Plateau region as an example to describe the toolkit’s method, results, and usage. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) provides to the public IMS a well-used system for monitoring the snow and ice cover. The newly developed toolkit is based on a simple shoe-lace formula for a grid box area on a sphere and can be conveniently used to calculate the total area of snow cover given the IMS data. The toolkit has been made available as an open source Python software on GitHub. The toolkit generates the time series of the daily snow-covered area for any region over the Northern Hemisphere from 4 February 1997. The toolkit also creates maps showing snow and ice coverage with an elevation background. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) region [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]N)[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]E) is used as an example to demonstrate our work on SACD. The IMS products at 24, 4, and 1[Formula: see text]km resolutions include each grid’s latitude and longitude coordinates that are used to calculate the grid box’s area using the shoe-lace formula. The total TP area calculated by the sum of the areas of all the grid boxes approximates the true spherical TP surface area bounded by [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]N) [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text]E) with a difference 0.046% for the 24[Formula: see text]km grid and 0.033% for the 4[Formula: see text]km grid. The differences in the snow-cover area reported by the 24[Formula: see text]km and 4[Formula: see text]km grids vary between [Formula: see text]% and 6.24%. The temporal variations of the daily TP snow cover are displayed in time series from 4 February 1997 to present with 4[Formula: see text]km and 24[Formula: see text]km resolutions.

scholarly journals Spatio-Temporal Variation Characteristics of Snow Depth and Snow Cover Days over the Tibetan Plateau

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Naixia Mou ◽  
Jiqiang Niu ◽  
Lingxian Zhang ◽  
Feng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Snow Depth ◽  
Feedback Effect ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Reanalysis Dataset ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Main Factor

Changes in snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) have a significant impact on agriculture, hydrology, and ecological environment of surrounding areas. This study investigates the spatio-temporal pattern of snow depth (SD) and snow cover days (SCD), as well as the impact of temperature and precipitation on snow cover over TP from 1979 to 2018 by using the ERA5 reanalysis dataset, and uses the Mann–Kendall test for significance. The results indicate that (1) the average annual SD and SCD in the southern and western edge areas of TP are relatively high, reaching 10 cm and 120 d or more, respectively. (2) In the past 40 years, SD (s = 0.04 cm decade−1, p = 0.81) and SCD (s = −2.3 d decade−1, p = 0.10) over TP did not change significantly. (3) The positive feedback effect of precipitation is the main factor affecting SD, while the negative feedback effect of temperature is the main factor affecting SCD. This study improves the understanding of snow cover change and is conducive to the further study of climate change on TP.

Assessment of MODIS-Based Fractional Snow Cover Products Over the Tibetan Plateau

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirui Hao ◽  
Lingmei Jiang ◽  
Jiancheng Shi ◽  
Gongxue Wang ◽  
Xiaojing Liu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Fractional Snow Cover

scholarly journals IMPACT OF TIBETAN PLATEAU SNOW COVER ON ABRUPT INTERDECADAL PRECIPITATION CHANGE OVER THE INDOCHINA PENINSULA IN THE MID-1990S

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-3/W9 ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Y. Ha ◽  
Y. M. Zhu ◽  
Y. J. Hu ◽  
Z. Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Western Pacific Subtropical High ◽  
Precipitation Change ◽  
Interdecadal Change ◽  
Northwestern Pacific ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Indochina Peninsula

Abstract. Abrupt interdecadal changes in summer precipitation (May – September) over the Indochina Peninsula in the past 40 years have been investigated based on the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis product over 1979–2013 and multiple precipitation datasets. The mechanism for the abrupt change is explored. Results indicate that an abrupt interdecadal change in summer precipitation over the Indochina Peninsula occurred in the middle 1990s, and the annual mean summer precipitation during 1994–2002 increased by about 10% compared to that during 1982–1993. The most significant precipitation change occurred in the central and northern peninsula. Further analysis reveals that the interdecadal decrease in snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau in the winter and spring contributed to the summer precipitation increase over the Indochina Peninsula. The decrease in snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau actually increased the thermal contrast between the Tibetan Plateau and the tropical Indian Ocean-northwestern Pacific, leading to intensified summer monsoon over the northwestern Pacific and the South China Sea. As a result, westerly anomalies occurred from the Bay of Bengal to the northwestern Pacific, while anomalous cyclonic circulation prevailed in the upper levels above East Asia. Correspondingly, the western Pacific subtropical high weakened and shifted eastward. Under the joint effects of the above circulation patterns, the atmosphere became wetter in the Indochina Peninsula and summer precipitation increased. Results of the present study provide a theoretical basis for the prediction of long-term summer precipitation change in the Indochina Peninsula.

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